4
Wednesdav. November 6. 1974
University Daily Kansan
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
OPINION
MAUDIN
1974 CHICAGO TIMES
"MAN, I'M THINKIN' ABOUT A CORRESPONDENCE COURSE."
Don't knock black TV
I have had telephone calls lately asking why I haven't written a column attacking "Sanford and Son" and "Good Times" as television shows that defend black America.
My answer is that these popular TV versions of black families are so far down on my list, and I can't help but say that I can't possibly wet unltt
I do admit to puzzlement as to why "Sanford and Son" is still up at the top of the ratings, considering Amor erosion. The film stars Sandra Bullock always rated high, and "Sanford and Son" is now merely a slightly sorted sort of Amos and Andy in which black actors with smut in their mouths get actors with smut on their faces.
Sure, it bore lifeshell out of me to hear Sandell spend a half hour finding different ways to call his friends. He can't rush into sociological rage, pretending that this unidentified name-calling gives a grossly false picture of what school is like in these schools, pool halls, private
parties where blacks played the "dozens" and the name-calling got really rough. That I can't regard Redd for "baboon" or "inspired" as a blot on 24 million black people.
Whites who go to hear Foxx in his night club act get to the real dirty stuff, and the fact that
family has both a mother and father. In real life, four black families out of 10 have only one child, while 70 does not offer the trauma of divorce, desertion, common-law shacking-up. It offers a not-too-formidable couple, struggling economically and doing pretty
By Carl Rowan
they revel in it says more about them than about black people as a whole.
I'm troubled, though, by what I consider unfair criticism of "Good Times." The typical argument is that the stars of this show are not a typical black family.
well at instilling into their children an appreciation of education, morality and common deciency.
There is no "typical" black family. This "Good Times"
The critics don't seem to know that in this society one able-bodied black out of nine can't even get a job, let alone
"But they show a black father who can't hold a job," some complain.
hold one, and that means 1.1 million black people out of work. Of the roughly nine million blacks who work, fully half are working part time, while eight are below their training and lazy jobs down two or three lousy jobs at the same time.
That "Good Times" father is tragically "typical" of what the black male worker faces in America. Yet TV does not put his family on welfare in a way that would be expected, like lookeches. "Good Times" shows that a black male who cannot quite make it big can still keep his pride, keep his kids off drugs, his daugh't* proud to clean—and that he still can be "the man" when real crises arise.
Whereas I shun "Sanford and Son" now, I watch "Good Times" whenever I can and guffaw. Sometimes, when others laugh, I wipe away a tear.
They say "Jr." isn't a typical teen-ager. Having survived three teen-agers who had far more money than they had watching hundreds more,
I say that "Jr." is a hilarious composite of all those enchanting, exasperating creatures groping along that treacherous path between adolescence and adulthood.
If "Jr." is a little exaggerated for the sake of bellow laughs, well, so was him Nabors' that's entertainment baby!
This 'Good Times' family is in just enough disarray for millions of blacks to be able to relate to it, or may learn something from it. Put a fatat, a black family on TV and no blacks would watch it, let alone relate to it.
So I vote one unhistoric君 on a declining "Ford and Son" and two gugly laughs for "Good Times." And I hope blacks will just turn the tube on or off, as they see fit, when these programs appear. But they might embrace their outward things that are much more destructive of black aspirations.
Copyright 1974 Field Enterprises, Inc
No doubt you've been disturbed by the KU athletic corporation's refusal to open up a university. You've probably wondered
Athletic corporation exposed
Turkish aid cutoff wise idea
For the first time in recent memory, the U.S.
committee is standing on a controversial
issue and made it slick
Despite the strong protests of President Gerald R. Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Congress recently passed a "veto" to allow Israel to participate in the economic aid to Turkey starting Dec. 10.
It was far from a monumental event, but it was a necessary and desirable action. And the passage ends with
The bill, a compromise reached after Ford had vetoed it twice before, calls for cutting off aid unless the President certifies that "substantial progress" is being made toward a Cyprus settlement and that U.S. arms aren't being sent to the Turkish forces on Cyprus.
The clarifying clause was a concession to Ford and Kissinger, but unless Kissinger can forge a new agreement, the United States would
And in view of the facts surrounding the Cyprus crisis, all aid to Turkey should be cut off.
Turkey receives over $236 million in military and economic aid from Washington each year. A large chunk of this is in the form of military hardware - planes, tanks and other weapons.
When the Turkish military became involved as the aggressor in the Cyprus crisis, most of the war goods used were American, particularly the tanks and iets.
Several members of Congress, especially Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash., view the aid cutoff as mandatory under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1968, and many other countries that actively use U.S. military supplies.
On Aug. 28 Jackson sent a telegram to Ford urging that "all further military and economic assistance to Turkey be held in abeyance until March 13," with withdrawal of Turkish forces from Cyprus.
Ford was alarmed by the aid cutoff because
the United States would presumably lose leverage in trying to settle the Cyprus crisis.
But if past events are any indication, the U.S. race doesn't have that much leverage over Turkey.
Last spring the Turkish government removed its ban on the growing of opium poppies, the principal source of the supply of heroin.
It was opposed violently by the Nixon administration; threats were made—but to no avail. The lifting of the ban came after a two-year prohibition on poppy-growing.
The two-year ban was agreed upon in exchange for a three-year, $35 million aid program. It seems that the Turks don't need the aid anymore and that they do have some leverage of them—m- the 24 American military installations in Turkey, which could be removed at any time.
At least Congress has realized that the United States needs to aid and control the actions of every government.
The aid cutoff should also be an economic bonus for the U.S. If Ford is sincere in his efforts to cut government spending, then a reduction of $236 million should be desirable.
And the aid cutoff could also be a small test of detente with the Soviet Union.
It is a long-standing historical fact that the Soviet Union would like nothing better than to make Turkey a satellite and gain control of the Dardanelles. If the aid cutoff does come, the Soviet Union will be in line to offer aid and gain influence in the eastern Mediterranean.
The day of wholesale foreign aid to any country, regardless of its use or intentions, is over. Congress should be thanked for at last attempting to get us out of the gigantic foreign aid business.
Gerald Ewing Contributing Writer
Mental illness out of shadows
For centuries they were called the "innocents" and the "damned," depending on the degree of their affliction. They were possessed by the devil, it was thought, or blessed by God, depending on the severity of their manifestations. When the nation then aspired became notorious as "Bedlam," when the mentally ill were housed there in the 17th Century.
Until very recently, mental institutions across the country were disgraceful, hidden and ignored when possible, dirty and unkempt, and hideous—because most people were ashamed that anything as terrible as mental illness existed.
But the biggest problem still remains—asking for help. For so many centuries the medieval attitude about mental illness has prevailed. It is shameful, foul and sinful. It isn't talked about. It's not possible. It's incurable. Psychiatrists are for stars and rich neurotics. Even psychiatric terms are bandied about like slang—jokes abound about manic-depressives.
Attitudes are slowly changing. We are only beginning to see public acceptance of the realities of mental illness, even though professional mental health workers have known for decades that as many as one in every 10 people in this country require psychological or psychiatric counseling at some point in their lives.
Until this attitude changes, until the realities of mental illness and the actualities about treatment are known by everybody, we cannot hope to achieve any real progress in dealing with it. Until psychiatric treatment ceases to be a topic for stand-up comics and cartoonists, until we cease ostracizing those people with the courage to recognize their problems and seek treatment, we cannot hope to put mental illness in its proper perspective. It's a disease—in the classical, literal meaning of the term—and it can be cured as completely as any other disease.
in treating for all degrees of mental illness. A state-wide system of public and private mental hospitals and clinics provides excellent treatment for all who ask for help.
We in Kansas have much to be proud of in our accomplishments, including the Foundation in Toptep for 40 years has pioneered
-Evie Rapport
what goes on at KUAC board meetings that must be kept secret. why does KUAC need teaching as the Black Student Union?
To find out, I planted microphones in the KUAC meeting room. Here's what went on at the latest meeting:
"Your attention, please! Will this week's meeting of the athletic board please come to order! Secretary Sterling, will you read the minutes of last week's meeting?"
"Certainly, Mr. Chairman.
Last week, the athletic board was honored to have coach Don Fambrough as our special guest. He traveled about KU's loss to Iowa State and he predicted a smashing KU victory over Oklahoma State.
"After the film, athletic director Clyde Walker lectured
about the future of women in the athletic program at KU.M. that women would be given more money and more opportunities for advancement in the department's secretarial pool.
"Everyone enjoyed refreshments, and the meeting was adjourned."
"Thank you, Secretary Sterling, for your inspiring report of last week's meeting. I am excited to meet tonight's meeting. We will not be able to see the filmed highlights of KU's loss to Boston in the game." Coach Fambrigh is ill again and can't be here.
"But we do have a special presentation to make tonight. To make that announcement, he directed the director, Clyde Walker."
his award. As you know, he is still recuperating from the injury he sustained three weeks ago in the Nebraska game. But Robert hopes to be back in the startling lineup this week.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As your athletic director, I am pleased to announce that for the unprecedented third week in a row, fullback Robert Miller has been selected Jayhawk Player of the week. Robert couldn't be here in person tonight to receive
"I have one more announcement to make. Bets on this week's game against Colorado will be handled after Dr. Schiff awards this day, eight to one, Colorado. Now I'll turn you over to our recreation director, Dr. Balfour."
"Thank you, Clyde. Does everyone have a card? Okay, the jackpot this week is $200. First number is N 41. That's N 41.
Steven Lewis Contributing Writer
Minorities flex muscles
An unprecedented triple veto saved South Africa from expulsion from the United Nations last week.
The charge was sparried—South Africa's system of racial separation, in which the white fifth of the population gets two-thirds of the national income. A Security Council resolution sponsored by Kenya, Mozambique, or Nigeria, recommended to the U.N., General Assembly the exclusion of South Africa.
The United States, France and Britain joined in a triple veto to save South Africa. If it had passed the Security Council, the resolution's African and Asian sponsors would have had enough votes to kick South Africa out.
In this country nowwhite minorities have a long history of demanding political, social and economic equality.
As the nonwhite peoples of the world assert themselves, the struggle between the nations of Africa and Asia and the white Western nations has sharpened their tensions outside the United Nations.
The third world is no longer willing to allow the white sixth of the world's population to come in a cent per the world's resources.
The black civil rights movement of the 1960s, the takeover of Wounded Knee by the Ku Klux Klan, challenged Chiho ceanco power and insisted
demands for Puerto Rican independence were and are part of minorities' struggles for self-determination.
Black people's resistance to the racist antibushing campaign in South Boston is only the latest phase of this struggle.
Business is no ultimate solution to racial segregation in Boston, but the right of blacks to attend any school in the country or live
any place in the country must be vigorously defended.
At the University of Kansas
Chicanos and Indians have
proven themselves as a strong
tutorial services, and the Black
Student Union (BSU) has
demanded a voice in the choice
of supportive Educational Services.
Both demands are legitimate.
Most Chicano and Indians are at a clear disadvantage in dealing with these issues especially in an academic setting.
As the major organized voice for black students at KU, BSU has every right to have a say in college administration and affects many of their lives.
Racism is so deeply ingrained in this society that white people find it hard to even understand the minority viewpoint.
Age-old racist beliefs and folkways have penetrated our culture and our institutions at
Letters Policy
Letters to the editor should be typewritten, double-spaced and should not exceed 500 words. All letters are subject to editing and condensation, according to space limitations and the editor's judgment. Students must provide their name, year in school and home town; faculty and staff must provide their name and position; others must provide their name and address.
American workers have only begun to understand that the exploitation of minorities abroad—for example, coal miners in South Africa—can cost Americans jobs at home.
White workers in Boston have only begun to understand that they have to face the same kinds of jobs, living conditions and political system as minorities.
Students at KU-minorities and whites—only have begun to understand that they face the same challenges in college grades, the same dorms and the
same administration.
In the coming decades racist appeals will become more frequent. America's declining share of world resources and markets will worsen economic conditions in this country.
As more people compete for fewer jobs, racists will blame minority people for "taking white jobs."
A basis for unity does exist.
Whites and minorities can unite
against a system that oppresses
them and for freedom and
diversity.
But unless whites ignore racist appeals, Americans could end up fighting each other, instead of our oppressors.
Jim Kendell
Contributing Writer
An All-American college newspaper
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